Republican Party

From RNC Chair Hopeful, a Provocative Holiday CD

By Michael D. Shear
Chip Saltsman, a candidate for chairman of the Republican National Committee, sent committee members this month a holiday music CD that included "Barack the Magic Negro," a parody song first aired in 2007 by talk show host Rush Limbaugh.

Created by conservative satirist Paul Shanklin, the song puts new lyrics to the tune of "Puff the Magic Dragon," and it is performed as if black activist Al Sharpton were singing it. Limbaugh played it after the Los Angeles Times ran an opinion piece with the same title, arguing that a vote for Barack Obama could assuage white guilt.

"A guy from the LA paper said it made guilty whites feel good, they'll vote for him and not for me cuz he's not from the hood," the song goes. "Oh, Barack the magic negro lives in DC, the LA Times they called him that because he's black but not authentically."

The CD accompanied holiday greetings from Saltsman, committee members said tonight. Saltsman, a Tennessee resident who managed former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee's campaign for president, announced his bid to lead the Republican Party earlier this month.

He did not return a call seeking comment tonight. Saltsman had earlier told the Hill newspaper, which first reported the incident, that the song is meant as a joke and should not be taken seriously.

"Paul Shanklin is a longtime friend, and I think that RNC members have the good humor and good sense to recognize that his songs for 'The Rush Limbaugh Show' are light-hearted political parodies," he told the newspaper.

Another candidate to lead the GOP, South Carolina party chair Katon Dawson, drew headlines this fall by resigning his membership of 12 years in a whites-only country club, weeks before launching his run at the national job.

The two incidents for both men come as Republicans are reeling from losing the presidency and dozens of House and Senate seats, and as many in the party are trying to improve relations with African Americans, who voted in record numbers for Obama and other Democratic candidates last month.

Among the candidates for RNC chairman are two African Americans: Michael Steele, the former lieutenant governor of Maryland, and Ken Blackwell, a former secretary of state in Ohio, who ran unsuccessfully for governor of that state in 2006.

Neither Blackwell or Steele could be reached last night for comment on the CD. Another candidate for RNC chair, Michigan GOP Chairman Saul Anuzis, declined to comment, saying, "I haven't seen it. I don't really want to make any comment."

A spokesman for president-elect Barack Obama also declined to comment.

Saltsman was widely credited for helping transform Huckabee from a fringe candidate into a serious contender for the Republican nomination, tapping into a desire among evangelical voters for a candidate they could believe in.

A onetime top aide to former Senate majority leader Bill Frist, Saltsman has recently traveled to several states to woo some of the 168 Republican committee members face-to-face. The winner of the chairmanship must get 84 votes to claim the job.

Current Republican chairman Mike Duncan is also running for reelection. The vote is at the end of January.

Comments

Right now, Chip Saltsman is focused on the short-term goal of how to get votes from the RNC members in order to be elected RNC chairman.

Ol' Chippy put a lot of thought into this, and had custom CD presentation cases made (with his smilin' face right next to four of the most offensive song titles) and sent to all 168 RNC members as Christmas gifts.

Chip knows his target audience -- Dr. Bill Frist praises Chippy as a "thoughtful tactician for Republicans nationwide." Chippy calculated that this tactic of sending this ugly, offensive CD (which Chippy defends as "light-hearted") would help him win the chairmanship of the RNC.

In his mind, Chippy sees this crude and vulgar CD as a no-lose tactic. Sendin' out this harsh and insultin' CD gets him press -- AND it appeals to the basest parts of his base -- AND he gets to deflect criticism by pointin' fingers at the media and playin' the victim -- AND, Chippy is a busine$$ partner with the man who records and sells these crass CDs.

Best of all, the CD is an easy shortcut for any RNC members who don't have the time or patience to evaluate Chip Saltsman by reviewin' his long, detailed, multi-page, 3,644-word "Plan for Republican Victory" on his RNC campaign website at www.chipsaltsman.com

Chippy says this is his "plan to execute a campaign for Republicans to recapture leadership on the American political scene."

Interestin'ly, Chip's Plan includes eleven long paragraphs about how the RNC should reach out to Latino and young voters --
but NOT ONE SINGLE WORD about black voters or their concerns...
and also, NOT ONE SINGLE WORD about female voters and women's concerns.

I reckon we'll see how Chip's self-servin' CD tactic plays out in the short term when the RNC members cast their votes in January --
and in the long term, when Americans cast their votes in future elections.

Posted by: Rampette | December 30, 2008 3:49 PM

BUSH THE FECKLESS CONMAN BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE GOP
(to the melody of Barack the Magic Negro or Puff the Magic Dragon)
WilliamBanzai7

Bush, the feckless conman brought to you by the GOP
Frolicked with the hypocrites of the grand old party of dishonesty,
Little Dicky Cheney loved that rascal Bush,
And brought him water boards, illegal wire taps and other fancy stuff. oh

Bush, the feckless conman brought to you by the GOP
Frolicked with the hypocrites of the grand old party of dishonesty
Bush, the feckless conman brought to you by the GOP
Frolicked with the hypocrites of the grand old party of dishonesty

Together they would travel on a Presidential yacht filled with felons, child molesters, liars and corrupt political appointees.
Dickie kept a lookout while Dubya huffed and puffed and failed his own country,
Hastert, Delay, Foley, Craig, Vitter, Gonzalez, Libby, Stevens, Brownie, Rummy the list's too long to explain,
Somali pirate ships should all lower their flags to honor the Republican hall of shame. oh!

Bush, the feckless conman brought to you by the GOP
Frolicked with the hypocrites of the grand old party of dishonesty
Bush, the feckless conman brought to you by the GOP
Frolicked with the hypocrites of the grand old party of dishonesty

A dragon lives forever but not so the two faced, lying and corrupt
West wings and campaign finance rings make way for boy toys behind bars.
One grey night it happened, Barack came knocking on the White House door
And Bush that cagey conman, ceased his feckless roar.

His head was bent in sorrow, the neocons cried in pain,
Dickie could no longer play along the Camp David lane.
Outside the oval office, Dubya could not be brave,
So Bush that feckless conman sadly slipped into his Crawford cave. oh!

Bush, the feckless conman brought to you by the GOP
Frolicked with the hypocrites of the grand old party of dishonesty
Bush, the feckless conman brought to you by the GOP
Frolicked with the hypocrites of the grand old party of dishonesty

Posted by: williambanzai7 | December 28, 2008 7:11 AM

Allow me to officially nominate Huckleberry for the RNC Chair!

He, is a recognized name, and a great organizer!

He would much better suited rallying support, as would Sarah Palin, than trying to be the Commander In Chief/Top Exec!

scott4u2, let me explain something: Just because the word "negro" was used beforehand, it was for a news story, and used in a certain context to make a point. That does NOT give this man an excuse to use such a term in a song. Your "justification" does not excuse it. The GOP has serious problems with minorities, and this does NOT help winning them over--or maybe you and your ilk really don't care, and are hoping Obama's policies will fail, and then so many minorities will become so discouraged, they'll stay at home and not vote the next time, and your Good Ol' Boys will get back into power, and you can do your little dirt yet again. Well, with that attitude, you're gonna be waiting a LOOOONG time. Blasted troll...

Posted by: SGall23241 | December 27, 2008 9:58 AM

Way to go GOP - on your way to becoming the waiting for Jesus, lily white party of the trailer parks of the old Confederate core.

:-)

Posted by: toritto | December 27, 2008 9:19 AM

"Paul Shanklin is a longtime friend, and I think that RNC members have the good humor and good sense to recognize that his songs for 'The Rush Limbaugh Show' are light-hearted political parodies," he told the newspaper.

This is what the "R"s always say, just change the topic and the answer is the same.

Complete, absolute, pejorative, condescending, and BIGOTED idiots. For the record, IT IS NOT FUNNY, IT IS NOT COOL, IT DOES NOT DISPLAY GOOD SENSE, and YES we all understand what you are really doing. And that is a primary reason the "R"s lost in November and will wander in the darkness for a long time. New, enlightened, intelligent, and articulate leaders are needed for the "R" party, but that probably won't happen.

BTW I am a WASP, a 24-year retired military officer, and I quit the "R" in April 2008 because I am, like millions of other Independents, tired of this unadulterated BS from the so-called "leaders" of the Party.

Enough said.

.

Posted by: swanieaz | December 27, 2008 7:58 AM

Let me get this straight. Lefty LA Times coined this phrase, but Repubs kick the can down the road and subsequently have it attributed to them?

Besides, Obama is white. Ask his mother...

Posted by: rjjrdq | December 27, 2008 6:30 AM

I really can't believe that people are this stupid. Then you consider the remark came from Rush Limbaugh and you understand that some people are this stupid. If the Republicans want to be led by a person of this caliber...but then you see that they were satisfied with Bush/Cheney. Someone jiggle the handle after the commode finishes flushing then all of these guys can have fun in the septic tank.

Posted by: racam | December 27, 2008 12:08 AM

Did the first two commenters even read the blog post, or do they just have a standard knee-jerk reaction to any word that starts with "n" longer than four letters? Point One: the phrase using the word "negro" was first used by the WaPo's ideological and circulation cousin, the Los Angeles Times. If anyone wants to be upset by the usage, then they are the ones that fingers should be pointed at first. Point Two: the candidate in question stated that the artist who did the song was a personal friend; further, it was sent to a targeted audience, presumably those who are not commenters on this blog.

It may have been in questionable taste, or of questionable usage, but to automatically label the sender or the recipients "racist" because it was used is veering into a semantic corollary of Godwin's Law.

Posted by: scott4u2 | December 26, 2008 11:27 PM

"Negro?" There is no end to Republican stupidity. They are mean, nasty people.

Posted by: Brittman1 | December 26, 2008 10:03 PM

I guess the whole RNC including its hopefuls are racist. Way to lose voters, guys. Merry Christmas and happy new year, bigots.